Amusan Misses Diamond League Podium As Russell Claims Hurdles Crown

Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan endured disappointment at the Diamond League Final in Brussels on Saturday, finishing fourth as American rival Masai Russell stormed to the women’s 100m hurdles title in a meeting-record 12.20 seconds.

Amusan, the defending Diamond League champion, clocked 12.54 seconds but was unable to secure a place on the podium in a race that had been billed as one of the major highlights of the season-ending meeting.

Bahamas world indoor champion Devynne Charlton produced a strong performance to finish second in a national-record 12.33 seconds, while Jamaica’s Megan Simmonds took third in a season’s best 12.43.

Russell’s victory further underlined her emergence as the new leading force in the event, coming just weeks after she dethroned Amusan as world-record holder.

The American clocked 12.09 seconds in Zurich to lower Amusan’s previous world record by three-hundredths of a second and become the first woman to officially break the 12-second barrier in the 100m hurdles.

Amusan had arrived in Brussels hoping to respond to that setback and reclaim her position at the summit of the event.

The Nigerian had shown encouraging form in preparation for the final, winning the Grand Prix Brescia in Italy on 31 August in 12.56 seconds despite a strong headwind. She finished ahead of American Alaysha Johnson and Jamaica’s Ackera Nugent.

That victory came only days after her second-place finish behind Russell in Zurich, where Amusan ran a season’s best 12.23 seconds.

However, she was unable to reproduce that performance in Brussels, ending her Diamond League campaign outside the medals as Russell added the prestigious title to her breakthrough world-record season.